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Some Delaware students studying Mandarin Chinese will get the chance to spend the summer in China learning about the country's language, culture, and technological innovations.

Gov. Jack Markell signed an agreement Wednesday with Wanxiang Group, China's largest auto manufacturer, in which the company will provide about $450,000 to pay for all-expense-paid trips for 24 students and four teachers.

"It's really just an awesome opportunity," Markell said. "If this had been around when I was young – can you imagine?"

Wanxiang is the company that purchased electric carmaker Fisker out of bankruptcy. Fisker was supposed to bring jobs to Delaware for construction in the old General Motors facility in Newport.

Markell couched the program as an extension of the state's foreign language immersion program launched three years ago. Starting in kindergarten, students in the program spend half their school day learning in English and the other half learning in either Mandarin or Spanish.

At Wednesday's event, Markell announced that six more schools will begin offering dual-enrollment programs: Silver Lake Elementary, Townsend Elementary, Claymont Elementary, East Dover Elementary and Wilbur Elementary. That will bring the total number of schools from 11 to 17.

The state expects the schools to offer a combined 2,300 slots.

Markell says the program key to training Delaware workers for an increasingly global economy. Without knowing more than one language, he argues, Delaware students could be less competitive than other, bilingual workers.

"This is a program that is very near and dear to my heart," Markell said. "I believe we can aspire to be the most bilingual state in the country."

Wanxiang Project Manager Daniel Li said the company hopes the program could be the first steps toward building stronger connections for the company in the U.S.

"Our chairman said, we planted a seed and if we keep watering it, then it will grow to be a big tree," Li said. "This is a small seed for the next generation that we know will grow."

Students will spend about half their day learning about culture and half their day learning the language, Li. They will also take several trips to see the company's cutting-edge "green" technology at work, like watching car batteries being built and power-generating wind-mills in action.

Li said he likes the program so much that he personally paid for his son to go on one of the expeditions with his Chicago school.

"It was like he was my eyes and ears in China," Li said. "It is wonderful."

Contact Matthew Albright at malbright@delawareonline.com, 324-2428 or on Twitter @TNJ_malbright.